Next time I'll search for recipes in German. Only problem is...how do I know they are correct?? I mean, I could probably find a dozens of recipes for almost any cheese, but which one do you use?

...Or you can search them in French! It's a bit of research and you can always ask here because many members are networked well and have lots of data and books collected. If they can't give you the recipe, they may verify or cross reference facts or together fill in the blanks and missing info. Also in the "how do I know they are correct" subject - look at the source. If you are getting them from the manufacturers co-op for that cheese, or from a reputable cheesemaking school or cheesemaker, or from the government's decree for that cheese, you are probably getting good info. If you get them from a random cheese blogger, I would question the data. It may be spot on but also may be inaccurate enough to throw off your cheesemaking, which is a waste of your time, milk and all the efforts it take to age it.

I don't know about this particular cheese, but the AOC specifications for Berner Alpkäse are fairly vague, and wouldn't be enough to base a recipe on unless you already had a good idea of how the cheese is supposed to work.

Most of the AOC's allow a little wiggle room for individualism of specific producers, acknowledging the fact that traditions have developed in a broader sense than some might think. The AOC specifications are fairly similar in concept to the specifications that the FDA puts out for cheeses.

Looks like I have just a touch of B linens starting. (The cheese looks a little red at the top, but the red/orange is starting at the bottom of the picture.) Otherwise it is looking pretty good. I had a few tiny specks of brown starting and I rubbed those off with the wash. I have been doing the wash with a bit of wine and the wine smell is definitely apparent. It will be interesting to taste what that does to the cheese.

I had it in about 80-85% RH. I just put the lid on the container so should be getting 90-95% humidity which will get the B linens going from what I understand. I may take the lid off once B linens is a bit more underway.

-Each wheel is turned several times per week and is rubbed with smear water [water with either b. linen culture or natural paste from washing many cheeses] and/or lightly salted water. The smear forms due to the regular treatment with water, that is enriched with salt and/or cultured or natural bacterial cultures Brevibacterium Linens or other permitted specific cultures. The use of antimicrobial agents is forbidden.

That is the wash guidelines for Vacherin Fribourgeous AOC. This it earlier specifies is for 30 days in a cellar 12-18 C, 88-96% RH

In that case I may give it a dose or two of B linens brine to get it started along. Are you saying it is only supposed to be aged for 30 days total? 200 Cheeses specifies 3-4 months. This is the last recipe I use from a book, let me tell you. I'll stick with the recipes here on CF.

I went to my local co-op and the VF has still not arrived. I ended up getting a cheese called "Der Scharfe Maxx". First off, it is amazing. It is from northern Switzerland and is washed with herb infused brine. It has a good amount of B. linens stink to it. The paste is oh so flavorful and complex. The rind is crazy -- I have never tasted anything like it, but it is so freaking strong tasting and on top of that you get a lot of influence from the herbs. I'm not even sure I like rind because it is such an intense taste, but I eat it anyway because it is so unique -- those herbs!

The VF is doing very well, although I did wait a little log to flip it this last time. The cheese sagged down through the supporting grid and broke the rind in a couple places -- kind of like a bubble popping. I don't think it will be an issue, but I'll watch it. The rind is full of B linens with a very nice color and just a dusting of geo. It looks like the pictures of those of you who know what they are doing! I'll have to post a pic soon.

That looks lovely and has the colors of the washed rind cheeses I've been doing recently. I really love that set of colors! Did you rind burst to the curd underneath of is it a thin dry layer of rind that broke? Mine has been having issues with dryish rind, I think from the low humidity. I did a honey/water wash to rehumidify it and put a tablespoon of water in the box to help and it fixed it but now a couple of weeks later I notice the problem again. I use a mat on top of the grid stuff and avoid the sinking through but I was thinking how lovely your pillowy surface looks.

Thanks! I'm not sure I have high hopes for how it comes out after tasting my Raclette today. Now that I think about it, NONE of my pressed cheeses have come out that great. I think I may have overpressed this cheese....I need to read up again on target PSIs. I don't trust the two books I have because they are off by so much. I also received a pH meter for Xmas so I hope that helps too. I have a Thermapen already so I know my temps are good.

Tiarella: yes, I'm really happy about the colors. Big difference between it and the colors I got on the Raclette. I had gotten a few spots of blue mold on it early on and I just washed the rind without regard and they just got snuffed out. I left it for maybe 5 days while I was sick (it was early on and I didn't have much linens at that point), and I was expecting the worst when I opened it up. Surprisingly, the rind was completely pale red/orange and beautiful. This picture doesn't have full coverage of linens because I washed and flipped it two days before. I also had a dusting of Geo on it then which I should have taken a picture of...it was pretty cool for a newbie cheese maker! I wash both sides and that creates a bit of a slippery handling situation and takes off some linens. My container doesn't have much clearance on the sides to do a wash while in the container. It should fill out in another couple of days anyway.

The cracks are maybe 1/16" deep...so I think that is pretty thin. I keep the lid tight on this one and it gets to about 95% humidity that way. Really, with a washed rind and a closed lid you shouldn't need to do anything other than that to rehumidify it, I would think....but what do I know? I also have thin grid matting that I could use, but I like the large grid look as well! This is my first time using the large grid so I didn't know the splitting of rind would be an issue. I like the look of the small mat as well though:

I like the mesh matting I have and it's effect. I'll attach a photo. I haven't opened this one yet but I messed up a lot of parts of the make and won't likely be soft and supple ever.....so I will wait to see what happens with it.